• Cardiovascular Disorders and Sexual Function in Postmenopausal Women
  • Soheila Nazarpour,1,* Masoumeh Simbar ,2 Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani ,3 Hamid Alavi Majd ,4
    1. Department of Midwifery, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran.
    2. Midwifery and Reproductive Health Research Center, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
    3. Reproductive Endocrinology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
    4. Department of Biostatistics, School of Paramedicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.


  • Introduction: Sexual function could be affected by underlying medical problems. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between cardiovascular disorders and sexual function in postmenopausal women.
  • Methods: This is a community-based, descriptive-correlation study of 405 postmenopausal women residing in Chalous and Noshahr cities, aged 40 to 65 years old in October, 2013- May, 2014. A multistage, randomized sampling was conducted. The data was acquired through interviews using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire, and was analyzed using descriptive and analytical tests such as t-test and multiple linear regression.
  • Results: Among all of the participants, 16.8% were suffering from cardiovascular disorder. Among subjects with cardiovascular problems, 75% had female sexual dysfunction (FSD), which is significantly higher than those without cardiovascular problems (58.2%)(P=0.009). Scores of arousal (P= 0.000), orgasm (P= 0.018), and satisfaction (P= 0.026), as well as the FSFI total score (P= 0.005), were significantly lower in subjects with cardiovascular disorders. In domains of arousal (P= 0.030), satisfaction (P= 0.040), and pain (P= 0.044), the scores of those taking antihypertensive medications were significantly lower than the scores of the rest of the subjects. Cardiovascular disorder was a predictive factor for the total score of FSFI (B=-1.723, P=0.026).
  • Conclusion: Cardiovascular disorders could have a negative impact on sexual function in postmenopausal women. Therefore, these conditions need to be taken into consideration in order to improve these women’s sexual function.
  • Keywords: Cardiovascular disorders; Sexual function; Menopause